DVD, I totally agree on Torre. Most managers would play him just because of his paycheck. I missed the game last night, but watched the replay of his pinch hit. Hanging breaking ball and he just went out and around to duck hook into left (kind of like my golf swing lately). He just needs to go down and start from scratch. His path to ball with his hands and his plate discipline are just terrible. Oh and last night he “raised” his avg to .169

Teixera to the Halos for Kotchman and a minor league pitcher. Sounds like Arte Moreno wants a ring....

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
Teixera to the Halos for Kotchman and a minor league pitcher. Sounds like Arte Moreno wants a ring....

Oh hell yes! The best team in the Majors just got better.

I am a little sad to see Kotchman go but Teixeiras power will more than make up for that. With Vlad getting protection from Teixeira the lineup finally has respectable power.

The only downside the Angels have had is lack of run scoring.

That will certainly make things interesting. While Texiera is a very good, Kotchman and some minor league pitcher is a lot to pay for two months of anybody. Boras is Texiera's agent. He will be testing the market.

I hope this results in another Championship. At the least, I won't have to hear from my father and his friends, "We need a bat!!"

Go Halos,

Neil

quote:

Originally posted by Red guy in a blue state:
Hope springs eternal for us Padres fans. The starting rotation could be spectacular if Prior returns to form (big if). Peavey, Young, Maddux and Wolf make a pretty good 1 through 4. Definite upgrades at 2nd base and center field (no more having to watch Cameron strike out looking with RISP). I don't know what Towers has in mind for left field. Hopefully he can get someone. Reminds me of last year when he said "I am perfectly comfortable with Termell Sledge as my left fielder." We all know how that worked out.

The NL West should be very competitive this year. Play ball!

WTF was I thinking? I need to hide the crack pipe. As departing pitching coach Greg Booker once said of the Padres: " You can suit a donkey up for the Preakness, but I don't think it is going to run so well." I hope they can at least make it respectable down the stretch. Go Pads.

quote:

Originally posted by Neil K.:
That will certainly make things interesting. While Texiera is a very good, Kotchman and some minor league pitcher is a lot to pay for two months of anybody. Boras is Texiera's agent. He will be testing the market.

I hope this results in another Championship. At the least, I won't have to hear from my father and his friends, "We need a bat!!"

Go Halos,

Neil

Valid points, but what the Angels gave is nothing compared to the 5 players the Braves gave for him.

The Angels can afford him, we will see. Wishing they never signed Matthews though, but at least it isn't something like Zito or Jones.

Great move by the Angels. Who knows how much longer Vlad is going to play at this level so they really need to go for it now. Growing up a Dodger fan, I never really cared much for the Angels, but I do root for Vlad. He is an awesome talent, has fun playing the game and doesn’t carry any baggage like some many other superstars. Scioscia is the best manager in baseball and the single biggest mistake the dodgers have made was letting him leave the organization.

The lowly O's held on to beat NY again, 7-6. Two in a row at Yankee stadium.
Remarkable.

Pudge to the Yankees....

I would really rather hear about the Giants making some trades....

Interesting move from the Tigers point of view. I know Pudge isn’t close to what he used to be, but seems like the Tigers could have received something better in return.

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
Pudge to the Yankees.... :

Great trade! I realize Pudge's best days are behind him, but he looks like he's still Top 10 in catchers this year. Molina has been great for the Yanks, but neither he nor Pudge are everyday catchers. So the combination of the two is perfect. The bonus is getting rid of Farnsworth - the 21st Century version of Ed Whitson.

How the Yanks keep pulling off moves is beyond me.

How the Yanks did not take advantage of the Angels sweeping the sox, AGAIN, makes you wonder if they will catch them.

quote:

Originally posted by Sticky2:
How the Yanks did not take advantage of the Angels sweeping the sox, AGAIN, makes you wonder if they will catch them.

Almost there. I'm hoping the Red Sux don't trade Manny. I don't even know why the Marlins are even entertaining the idea.

I hope the Sox trade Manny, for Favre.

Now that is the Giants offense that I expected to see this year....

Bringing the Manny circus to LA. This will be interesting. Still don’t know who we gave up. If we gave them Kemp, I will become a Giants fan.

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:
Bringing the Manny circus to LA. This will be interesting. Still don’t know who we gave up. If we gave them Kemp, I will become a Giants fan.

Holy crap! What a trade, but the Red Sox just got much weaker and the Dodgers much stronger. The Pirates got a hell of a deal as well.

You can like the Dodgers now and spurn the Giants.

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:
Bringing the Manny circus to LA. This will be interesting. Still don’t know who we gave up. If we gave them Kemp, I will become a Giants fan.

LaRoche and prospects... personally, i wouldve rather had Bay, i think its slim Manny will stay a Dodger past this season

quote:

Originally posted by kumazam:

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:
Bringing the Manny circus to LA. This will be interesting. Still don’t know who we gave up. If we gave them Kemp, I will become a Giants fan.

LaRoche and prospects... personally, i wouldve rather had Bay, i think its slim Manny will stay a Dodger past this season

Long haul, yes, I would have rather had Bay. But I don't think the Dodgers made this trade for the laung haul. Sure, we gave up Laroche, but we haven't had a hitter like this in years. I think this was a good trade, especially since the Sox are picking up all 7 million left on his contract.

Couple this trade with getting Blake, and our line-up is much better than it was a week ago.

I don't get what happened here in Boston in just the last few weeks. Manny's always been, well, Manny. Spoiled, pampered and allowed to do anything he wanted because of his offensive skills. But this year he had been much nicer to the fans and media. Just about everyone here liked having him on the team. Almost everyone was a Manny appologist, ignoring his lack of effort on grounders and pop ups and some fielding blunders for years becuse of his bat. Everything was fine. All of a sudden he slaps his teammate, pushed down a 65 year old secretary because he couldn't get enough tickets for him one time and bad mouthed the ownership and managment. Then he started dragging the rest of the team down with him since the break. Obviously he wanted a new long term contract but did he really have to shoot his way out of town like this?

One of the best right handed hitters ever and the Sox have to trade away a good outfield prospect, a lousy relief pitcher AND pay his 7 million for this year! His replacement has similar numbers on a worse team so I don't think there will be a huge drop off for the Sox but he won't be Manny.

For all the LA fans I hope he doesn't quit on you like he has on the Sox before. He'll sit for no reason in crucial games like the Yanks game we lost last week 1-0. He needs prefferential treatment, similar but not as bad as Bonds, and he's a "me" not a "team" guy first. If he actually gives any effort between the lines you've got an amazing offensive tallent there. But if things don't go his way he'll decide for himself to ride the pine next to Jones. Good luck to you and Torre on this one, it'll be interesting to watch.

He's one of the best ever, we probably wouldn't have won the championships without him and he provided lot's of entertainment for years. It's really a shame it ended like this, he had everyone in Boston loving him for years and now I can speak for almost everyone here when I say don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Manny!

It is a very good deal for the team in LA , but calling Manny "one of the best ever" is a stretch.

In all reality, I think the Red Sox will be better off without him.

I guess the Giants want to test the waiver wire trade market ....

I agree they will be better off without him because of the way he has been acting. It was going to be pouting and sitting out with Manny if he didn't get what he wanted. Shame they had to give it to him though.

Also, in my book anyways, lock first ballot hall of famers are the best ever. He's one of them.

Hopefully this shake up straightens out the Sox. I really don't want to send Wine Wizzard the pinot. Fortunately they got slapped around by the Angel's too, even with their new pieces.

quote:

Originally posted by Icewino:
lock first ballot hall of famers are the best ever.

I don't really agree with that. But hey, no biggie...

The last 5 OF who were first ballot HOF are:
Gwynn (2007), Winfield (2001), Puckett (2001), Yount (1999), Reggie (1993).

Manny's production matches up as much as I hate to admit it. We'll have to see. Sosa's numbers are below Manny's. Bonds* are obviously better ... Are there any others who will be coming up to eligibility that are at Manny's level?